Most photographers in the world get to shoot with their subjects once or twice in different locations, however I can honestly say that I had the distinct privilege of doing three separate photo shoots, in three different countries with Fitness Pro and now new Mother of a handsome baby boy…Johanna Hess.
How did we get here? Great question! Scroll down and find out!!
As some of you may recall, I did a blog called, “My Lawyer Johanna Hess WBFF Pro Diva”. In there I spoke about how we met, and the two of us shooting at the historic West Bottoms in Kansas City Missouri, and how I had just moved to Germany. Now, years later before our last shoot (maternity) we had spoken and it dawned upon me that Johanna is the only person that I’ve shot with in three different countries. Coincidentally, all three countries are where she has a law degree and can practice law in.
The photos above were taken on our first shoot in Kansas City Missouri in 2017.
Now one thing I learned new about Johanna on our second photo shoot is that she, unlike most people I’ve worked with in the past, is ALWAYS ready. I truly appreciate that. No matter what clothing outfit I had thought of, she had it ready to go in her closet! Her wardrobe could easily be a, “Master Class’ for anyone aspiring to do photo shoots. For a minute, I thought I had walked into Barbie’s closet LOL! That’s what made it easy, besides her always being in great shape for the camera.
The photos above were taken in 2019 in London, England.
For our final shoot in 2021 in Bavaria, Germany we did her maternity photo shoot. I had never shot in Bavaria, but I had visited that region multiple times and had always been struck by all the natural beauty. It’s so simple, elegant and breathtaking that whenever you go there…You KNOW that God is real. When you go, all you can do is submerge yourself into the beauty of the landscape, and having a photo shoot there just made it even better. For those of you that didn’t know, photography is my business, however it’s also my own way of mental therapy and allows me to just reset and find my focus within (pun intended).
In conclusion, I implore all of you, photographers or not, to get out into the world and see all of its beauty. Get out and meet new people, and have some great experiences. Don’t just stay in one place and let the world go on without you experiencing new things. Had I not spoken with Johanna in May of 2016 in the lobby of her WBFF show, we would’ve been total strangers and not have become better friends. Now she’s the Mom to her baby boy Maximilian and the next time we do a photo shoot, I’ll hopefully have the honor and privilege of doing some work with both of them.
You see, a lot of my peers feel like all they can do is one thing only. For me, i want to be that photographer for my clients that is trusted to carry on their photos for a lifetime. You’ll never hear me running away from my people. THEY’RE MY TRIBE!!! #TribeMikeCon
Mike Conley of MikeCon Photography
Instagram: @mikeconphoto
www.mikeconphoto.com
